Things were looking good for Rick and Cheryl Barsness in March 2020. The couple was celebrating the success of their Incredible Pizza Co., founded in 2001, and the opening of a new restaurant in Shawnee, Kansas. As Don Potvin, who’s worked with the couple since 2004, notes, these are no ordinary pizza joints. They are […]
Case Studies Watch List 2022
Victoria Lynden – Kohana Coffee
Est. reading time: 4 mins
With apologies to Sting, there’s quite the message in a bottle—or can—when it comes to Kohana Coffee. It’s about sustainability and promoting gender equality in the Central American countries from where the bulk of its beans are provided, says its very personable and passionate chief executive officer and founder. It’s also about the specialty cold-brew […]
Leslie Surber – Latitude 36 Foods
Est. reading time: 4 mins
Finally, it’s lunchtime and you’ve decided to go a healthier route today. However, when you open your bag of mixed greens, it doesn’t have croutons, cheese or dressing to liven it up. Here was a gap in the condiment supply chain, Leslie Surber thought—and it needed to be fixed. That’s among the reasons she started […]
Jean Swoope – The Coffee Tree Roasters
Est. reading time: 4 mins
When Jean Swoope became the president and owner of The Coffee Tree Roasters, she had a few ideas for change. Her late husband, who started the business with his father in 1993, had been consistent in how the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, coffee company had operated. Without disrespecting his legacy, Swoope added her own touch. “He did […]
